Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Rips Mark Zuckerberg, Pumps Bitcoin

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is not a crypto investor, but praised bitcoin for its “massive value creation.” He also trashed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying he lost respect for the billionaire amid the social media monopoly’s epic data-breach scandal.

Wozniak made the bombshell remarks in a February 26 interview with Bloomberg (see video below, starting at 4:08).

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Woz: Bitcoin Created Huge Value, Despite Bear Market

When asked if he still believes that bitcoin will emerge as the world’s single currency despite the Crypto Winter, Woz says remains a bitcoin bull.

“I’m not sure I buy that we’ve seen ‘massive value destruction.’ I think we’ve seen massive value creation.”

In June 2018, Wozniak said he wants bitcoin to emerge as the world’s single currency. At the time, Wozniak said he was attracted to the “pure” idea that people from all around the world could share a single currency despite being geographically dispersed.

“I buy into what Jack Dorsey says. It’s not that I necessarily believe it’s going to happen, but I want it to be that way. That is so pure thinking.”

Woz echoed the sentiments of Twitter billionaire Jack Dorsey, who believes the original cryptocurrency will supplant all other currencies within the next decade.

Sold Bitcoin Holdings During Bull Market

Despite Wozniak’s pro-crypto stance, he no longer owns any bitcoin. Woz — whose net worth tops $100 million — said he once held “a lot bitcoin,” but only to experiment with it, not to make money from it as an investor.

When the bitcoin price soared to record highs during the 2017 bull market, Wozniak sold it all. Why? Because he didn’t want to be one of those anguished crypto traders who wring their hands every time the price fluctuates.

“When it went up high, I didn’t want to be one of those people [obsessively] watching the bitcoin price, so I sold out. I don’t know where it is now, but it’s way over what I bought it at.”

Woz: I Lost Respect for Mark Zuckerberg

Separately, Steve Wozniak said he’s disgusted with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly violating user privacy by selling their personal data to third parties without their consent — for years.

“I lost a lot of respect for Mark Zuckerberg watching him speak, and supposedly taking some steps that are nothing. I don’t trust that.”

As CCN reported, the US Federal Trade Commission is considering slapping Facebook with a “record-setting” fine for its massive data-breach debacle.

Actor Will Ferrell and Playboy magazine deleted their accounts, saying they were alarmed by Facebook’s gross misuse of user data.

Billionaire Elon Musk also deleted the accounts of his companies, Tesla and SpaceX. Musk said Facebook always gave him the creeps.

“It’s not a political statement and I didn’t do this because someone dared me to do it,” Musk tweeted. “Just don’t like Facebook. Gives me the willies.”

Wozniak: Facebook Should Be Regulated

Similarly, Steve Wozniak said he deleted his Facebook account amid its mushrooming user-privacy scandal. Woz pointed out that location-technology company Foursquare has not exploited its users for fistfuls of dirty cash.

“Foursquare have been offered millions of dollars for data on their users. And they turned it down because it was unethical. So you can draw the line at a good place and not a bad place.”

When asked if the government should regulate Facebook due to its privacy-breach debacle, Wozniak said yes.

“That kind of regulation we need some of. The United States is way behind Europe on recognizing a lot of these issues on data privacy.”

About The Author

Samantha Chang is a financial editor who writes about politics at BizPac Review and about business at CCN. She is a law school graduate and an alum of the University of Pennsylvania who enjoys finance, flowers, and fitness. You can follow her on Twitter at Samantha_Chang.